Oedipus Through the Years – 1997

The 1997 production of Oedipus Tyrannus was the 33^rd Bradfield College Greek Play and the third to be directed by Hailz-Emily Osborne. “I was the first woman to direct a Greek play but that’s not surprising as I was the first full time female master (1985) at Bradfield.”

For her, the heart of Greek drama has always been the Chorus and she stated in her programme notes that the 1997 cast were committed to the idea of an Ancient Greek Chorus, one that must dance and sing as well as act. She went on to note: “It is, of course, the boys and girls of the Chorus who are the real heroes of the Greek Play”, and it is those pupils who she remembers fondly to this day.

“What I chiefly remember is working with amazing young women and men. The first all-girl chorus was The Bacchae (1991) followed by another for Troades (Trojan Woman, 1994). Oedipus (1997) was the first with music written for a chorus of mixed male and female voices.”

Having arrived at Bradfield in the Lower Sixth in September 1996, Hannah Lee (née Knapp) (I 96-98) found herself being swept up in Greek Play fever very early on in her Bradfield journey. Auditions were held at the beginning of the Autumn and it seemed to her that everyone was going for it. She was thrilled to be cast as a member of the Chorus, rehearsing every evening after Prep in the Greek Theatre.

“I loved every second of it. There was no place else I’d rather have been and it changed my life. My love and inspiration for my career in the Arts stems back to that 17-year-old girl giving it all her heart in Greeker in the pouring rain but not feeling a single drop.”

Hannah remembers how the experience felt very professional with costumes hand made for each cast member and a team of pupils administering heavy stage makeup. It all became part of the ritual to get the cast in the right space to perform.

“The Chorus would lie on the floor with our heads close together in a tight circle and our legs reaching outwards and hum notes in harmony with each other. It calmed our nerves and warmed up our voices, giving us the comforting sense that we were working as one out there.”

“One of my abiding memories was of our then Headmaster, Peter Smith, sitting through every performance, most of which were in heavy rain, without an umbrella for shelter and giving us a standing ovation at the end. It felt so heartening; he recognised our hard work and fully valued it.”

Taking part in Bradfield’s historic Greek Play shaped Hannah’s life as she choose to pursue a career in the Arts; training as an actress in Classical Acting at Central School of Speech of Drama after graduating from St. Andrews University in English Literature. She has worked on many more theatre productions and is currently in TV drama development.

“I can still remember the opening speech”, claims James Grey (H 92-97) who played the titular role of Oedipus. “I think I have the script somewhere, together with the programme, the video recording, maybe even a t-shirt!”

Having auditioned early on in the Michaelmas Term, James found out he’d been cast as Oedipus by September, giving him the entire academic year to learn all the Greek alongside studying for his A Levels. James is in distinguished company, as is anyone who takes part in this historic Bradfield tradition, and he recalls some very special guests coming to see the show that year.

“Charles Lepper (A 36-40 & SCR 67-85) and Richard Adams (H 33-38), Watership Down author and Old Bradfieldian, came in to see rehearsals and the show. They had been in the original 1937 production which was a lovely connection to the past. It was fascinating to hear how different the College was, as I know it is now.”

James went on to LAMDA before gaining work as an actor, noting that Greeker is one of the largest stages in the UK which makes performing in the theatre a unique experience. “Working as an actor I realised that the Greek Play budget outstripped many London shows of the time! My robes had unwashable crushed velvet and silk. We perhaps didn’t realise how lucky we were.”

“I remember Oedipus as if it were yesterday!” says Matt Barber (E 96-01) who, after leaving Bradfield, starred as an actor in Downton Abbey and the Dracula TV series. Matt played Antigone and one of Tiresias’ crows in Osborne’s 1997 production. “You’ve got to start somewhere!” he says of his role as a crow. “I was in the Fourth Form when I auditioned and was quite short when the academic year began. By the time the play went on stage I was taller than James who was playing Oedipus and I was supposed to be a little princess. It was a bit ridiculous.”

In an interview with The Bradfieldian, Matt said the experience of being in a Greek Play stays with Bradfieldians long after they have left the College. “As one of the first experiences of acting on stage there is a kind of magic about it. For me there is a rugged, simple charm about the Greek Theatre that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

Matt would go on to play the lead in Hippolytus three years later and being in the Greek Play will always be one of his fondest memories. “I came to Bradfield because of the Greek Play. I wanted nothing more than to be in it and even running on at the end of the show was such a big deal to me; especially because it meant I got to hang out with a load of older pupils which I thought was just the coolest thing (although I’m pretty sure they found me really annoying). Being in Oedipus was one of the first catalysts to me becoming a professional actor. It is fair to say that I wouldn’t be doing what I do today if it weren’t for Greeker.”

Claire Whitworth (née Pilkington) (I 95-97), who played Jocasta in the 1997 production, has very fond memories of the long summer evenings rehearsing in Greeker as well taking the show on tour to Greece in the Summer. “It took us a year to learn the Ancient Greek script and put it together so the cast and crew became like a second family. The tour to Greece was a fantastic experience. We would parade around the streets in our costumes handing out fliers for the play.”

Tristan Daws (E 96-00), who played the role of Ismene, is looking forward to this year’s production. “It’s wonderful timing to return to Bradfield to see the play that first introduced me to Greek Theatre!” Tristan is now a secondary school teacher himself and next year is directing Antigone as the senior play at his school, Wimbledon High School.

In the 1997 Bradfield College Chronicle review Helen Branson (née Holtom) (I 96-98) received rave reviews for meeting the challenges of the second longest speech of the play. “A mature and powerfully nuanced performance that won her praise in the national press. The reviewer went on to say: “For many, Holtom’s performance was the most dazzling and most gripping in the production.”

Looking back on the 1997 production Helen commented: “It is wonderful to hear that Oedipus is making a return to Greeker. I remember well taking part as the nurse to Jocasta in Hailz-Emily Osborne’s production in 1997. Lots of fun and fantastic to be transported back to all the drama of Greek tragedy.”